Nature vs Nurture
by CrystalIceSweet
Summary: Tsuyoshi Sawada was destined to be Vongola X, Reborn knew. He may be shy and not leader material right now, but the hitman was determined to train him until he was. The problem was, he had to first get past the teen's overprotective older brother Tsuna, a young man with a power that Reborn has never come across before and isn't sure he can beat. Slash. Tsuna/? Updated 18/02/13


**Title**: **Nature vs Nurture**

**Category**: Anime/Manga » Katekyo Hitman Reborn!  
**Author**: CrystalIceSweet  
**Language**: English, Rating: **Rated**: T (Ratings may go up)  
**Genre**: Drama/Crime

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**SUMMARY AND TABLE OF CONTENTS**

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**Summary**: Tsuyoshi Sawada was destined to be Vongola X, Reborn knew. He may be shy and not leader material right now, but the hitman was determined to train him until he was. The problem was, he had to first get past the teen's overprotective older brother Tsuna, a young man with a power that Reborn has never come across before and wasn't sure he can actually beat. Slash.

When an attempt on his brother's life landed said brother in the hospital, Tsuna knew that their so-called normal family wasn't that normal after all. He couldn't say why, but he felt that this attempt would be the first of many; and without Iemitsu there to protect them, it was up to him, Tsuna, as the oldest man of the family, to make sure his mother and brother could live a peaceful life. He started to train with an enthusiasm brought only by fear of what could happen if he wasn't strong enough; on the way, he slowly discovers a strange power that he could only describe as…magic.

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**AUTHOR'S NOTES AND EDITS**

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**A/N:** Tsuna will be 16 instead of 13 like in canon. Tsuna's abilities are still in beta stage somewhat; he'll get better with time and will learn new abilities like the Hyper Dying Will Mode.

**Edited 16/02/13: I have merged the Prologue and Chapter 1 and added a few paragraphs, so you don't have to re-read.**

**Also, Tsuna and Tsuyoshi may seem way too grown-up for their age but that's inevitable. They are in a situation where they either have to grow up or get killed. The canon Tsuna may have been lucky enough to get a proper childhood with no assassins after his blood, but the twins here do not have that luxury. They had to start thinking for themselves because Nana wasn't going to man up and take charge of the situation.**

**As for the Pairings, I will leave the poll up for another few days. Please vote:)**

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**ANNOUNCEMENT PLEASE READ!**

**So there was some comments how this format is difficult to read so I'm going to reupload the new chapter as a new chapter. Thank you for your comments.**

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**REPLIES TO REVIEWS**

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**First of all, I would like to thank every one of you for reviewing; I'm happy you've all enjoyed this story. Here I will be answering to any questions that came up in the reviews. There are some other reviews not covered here so they will be covered next chapter.**

**Sorry for the delay, I had to re-edit the 2nd chapter; the first version I've posted is…I won't even say it. I hope this one's better.**

**1. Artemis Kuromoru: **Yes, I understand your concern; however if the pairing is indeed Tsuna with one of the Arcobalenos, it will take a long time to develop, so don't worry. Reborn is still in baby form; people seem to really like R27 so maybe that will be the end pairing, or I'll go for something more…exotic. Besides, Tsuna can be with numerous people before he ends up with The One. It'll be fun to see.

**2. Butterfly; MOI; Yorutsuki-Lunia; Reader; Anonymous; Taylor; Guest; KhRfan12; Guest; Belle-Kurama-style-bankai; Wanderer:**Thank you all for your wonderful reviews; for those whooffered a Pairing, don't worry, I have noted it down and it will go into the final count. Thanks for reading:).

**3. Mutsumi Ayano: **First of all, thank you for you kind review. And second of all, Fon is Hibari's teacher. They are indeed related in this story; Fon's a busy man, the only reason he's even considering teaching Hibari how to fight is because Hibari is his cousin's son. Hibari's not even involved in the Mafia so without a blood relation between them, there's no reason for Fon to come in to contact with Hibari at all. I hope that clears things up:)

**4. Yorutsuki-Lunia: **First of all, WOW! That's the longest review I have ever seen; thank you for being so enthusiastic about my story. I'm glad you like it. I'll try to answer to all your questions.

**Yaoi instead of Slash**: In my opinion, the only difference between the two is sex. Since I want to concentrate more on the plot for the moment before getting in to lemons (however, that doesn't mean there won't be limes), I will keep it Slash…for now. It will definitely go in to Yaoi territory in the future.

**Tsuna's appearance**: For now, Tsuna's hair is short like in Canon, however I won't be against growing it out in the future.

**Tsuna's a genius**: Tsuna may not be an academic genius, he still gets pretty good grades. He's not perfect; Tsuyoshi, his brother, for example, is a genius hacker. Tsuna is a genius battle strategist; his strength lies in fighting and using his powers; sure he can't remember everything he reads or know how to speak a million languages (he only knows Japanese, Italian and English), but that doesn't mean he's not cool; he has other things going on then studying all the time:) I'm sure everyone can relate.

**Vice-president of Disciplinary Comity**: Unfortunately Tsuna's too involved in things like school policy and sports to deal with the Disciplinary Comity; but that doesn't mean Hibari doesn't come to him for advice/help in rare occasions.

**Nickname**: Tsuna unfortunately won't have a cool nickname:(. Some characters may find him one in the future, but for now, he's just…Tsuna.

**Tsuna's age**: Tsuna is 16 at the start of the story. His brother is 15. They are both in their first year of High School. In this story, Nanimori High is a continuation of Nanimori middle; meaning the same students who attended Nanimori middle will now attend Nanimori High. Hibari, on the other hand, is 18 so he's in his 3rd year at Nanimori High. Everyone else in the gang will be 16 or 15 since you can be 15 or 16 in your first year.

**Tsuna**-**Tsuyoshi** **relationship**: I have noticed up to now that in any fic involving Tsuna with a brother, said-brother is always some sort of secondary character, designed to make Tsuna some kind of martyr or a bully victim; he's just there so we can compare Tsuna to him and let everyone see how wonderful Tsuna is. I'm not against that formula; I have adored the fics that uses it, but I have decided to change things up a little.

Tsuyoshi will be a full-fledged character by himself; he has his weaknesses, he also have his strength; he compliments Tsuna. Since Tsuna's strength are different from his, together they can achieve great things. Tsuna may be over-protective of his brother; but Tsuyoshi is not helpless. He may be shy and not really leader-worthy (he tends to have headache whenever he's forced to take the lead), he can stand up to himself. Tsuna is just paranoid sometimes.

**Home** **Economics**: Yes, Tsuna is great at cooking; he loves it and gets the hang of it pretty quickly. However, he just can't seem to make a decent cup of coffee, luckily, Tsuyoshi is good at that.

**Ok, that's everything**; thanks for reviewing; I hope that clear things up. Enjoy the next chapter.

**5. StardustDreams: **Thanks for the review:) I really like Tsuyoshi's character; he will be fun to write. As you will soon see, Tsuyoshi may not be a hateful brat towards Tsuna, he's really possessive about his brother; if someone gets too close, he won't hesitate driving them away with some choice words; imagine an overprotective father over his daughter's virtue. Tsuyoshi can still be a little brat in that sense but at least, he's a lovable one. And as for Tsuna's power, your idea is very interesting; however Tsuna's power is really capable of stopping time; he's not moving superfast or anything.

**6. Aki Sou: **Pairings are still undecided yet, so please vote for the one you want.

**7.** **Mamitsu27**: You'll have to see:)

**8. Random Reader: **Mmm, Hibari won't follow someone he doesn't respect, so if Tsuyoshi wants him as a guardian, he will have to man up in a way.

**9. Rikkai and hyotei lover: **Tsuna's magic will be further developed in future chapters.

**10. Metamorcy: **Yes, that may be confusing however Tsuyoshi will be the brother, Yamamoto-san will be the father, and Takeshi or Yamamoto will be the son. I hope that clear things up.

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**NOTES**

"**English**"

"_**Italian**_"

"Japanese"

**Please read and review:)**

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**NATURE VS NURTURE**

**PROLOGUE SNAPSHOTS**

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_**Nanimori Hospital, Past, Tsuna Age: 7, Tsuyoshi Age: 6, year 2000**_

"Is he going to be ok, mama?" Tsuna asked weakly as he held his mother's hand in a death grip, his gaze not leaving the hospital bed where his little brother laid, unmoving and unknowing of the pain and suffering he was causing by not waking up. Tsuna wanted to cry; he wanted to scream; he wanted to blame everything on his bastard father for not being here. But, he didn't, because Tsuna was old enough to know that tantrums at this stage of the game was going to cause more harm than good. His mother looked already on the verge of a breakdown; Tsuna, as the oldest male of the family, needed to keep calm. It didn't matter that he was only 7; like it didn't matter that Tsuyoshi was only 6; they still kidnapped him, they still hurt him and starved him for days on end; nothing mattered to whoever did this and Tsuna wasn't about to lament the unfairness of it all when his beloved little brother could very well never wake up.

From his side, his mother made a choked-off voice before trying to form a coherent answer.

"Of course, Tsuna," Nana Sawada replied softly, as confidently as she could, as she caressed his son's hair like she did when Tsuna was young and couldn't sleep at night, "you have to understand that some really mean men detained your brother for a really long time; they didn't treat him well so Tsuyoshi's body need to recover; the doctors said that he's going to be fine so you don't have to fret; one would think you were the mother in the family."

A joke; Tsuna could work with that. Even if he did not believe even one word that came out of his mother's mouth, he could play along for her sake; Nana Sawada didn't seem to get that Tsuna wasn't as naïf as she had once thought him to be.

To show how much he appreciated his mother's attempt at lightening the mood, Tsuna pouted a little.

"Mom," he whined, making Nana crack a smile for the first time in days; ever since they had discovered that Tsuyoshi was missing actually.

That had been terrible; Tsuna wondered if he will ever forget the crippling horror that had overtaken his body when the dark haired police officer showed up at their doorstep a little before 6 some days ago, with the news that witnesses saw a black haired man abduct Tsuyoshi right in front of his English teacher. Nana had actually fainted and Tsuna had felt so helpless that he almost threw up.

He never wants to feel that way, ever again.

As he watched his brother slumber on in that small uncomfortable bed, Tsuna vowed to himself that he was going to get stronger. If there was one thing this incident taught him was that their family wasn't as normal as Nana liked to think. The kidnapper, when he had been caught, knew things about Tsuyoshi that he shouldn't have known; it wasn't a crime of opportunity; this was planned out, carefully and methodically, by a mastermind bend on making a point. Tsuna didn't have to be genius to conclude that it had something to do with his absent father.

Tsuna would have liked to believe that once this debacle was over, their life would go back to normal; really, he would, but he had already seen the consequences of being willfully ignorant like Nana. He wasn't about to risk his family's life just because he was too afraid to face the truth.

Really, he wasn't a pessimist or anything, but there was something about this incident that told him that this was just the beginning of his troubles.

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_**Sawada Residence, Past, Tsuna Age: 8, Tsuyoshi Age: 7, year 2001**_

1 year has passed since that terrible incident back in 2000; one year, and Tsuyoshi was finally getting back to normal. He may still have nightmares from time to time, and would climb in to Tsuna's bed for comfort, but apart from that, the young child did not show any particular signs that he was still traumatized by the ordeal he had to go through. It was a good thing too since Tsuna didn't want his brother to have to see a psychiatrist; those people were frauds in Tsuna's opinion – unfortunately Nana didn't seem to feel that way.

One thing that did change from before to after was how affectionate and clingy Tsuyoshi was. Before the incident, Tsuyoshi hadn't been a particularly touchy-feeling kid; sure, he liked to hold his mother's hand in a crowded marketplace, or hug his brother goodnight, but he was never at this level before. After the incident, Tsuyoshi refused to let Tsuna out of his sight if it were possible; whenever they would sit on a couch together, he would snuggle up to Tsuna or simply sit in his brother's lap, his face hidden in his brother's neck. Whenever Tsuna wanted to dislodge him to go to the washroom or something, Tsuyoshi would let out a soft whimper, like some kind of wounded little animal, and Tsuna would sigh and sit back down.

In Tsuna's mind, he was glad that they were closer than ever and had found, at the beginning at least, Tsuyoshi's behavior rather cute. Nana however warned him that he shouldn't spoil his brother so much; he was a child, sure, but he also needed to learn to move on from the past. This type of behavior was acceptable since Tsuyoshi was only 7, but it would be bad if it persisted over the years. Tsuna had listened to his mother's warning patiently, but he had truly believed that Tsuyoshi would get better as the days goes on; he can't believe he was wrong.

"Brother," Tsuyoshi whined as he held on to Tsuna's hand, trying to prevent him from leaving, "It's Saturday and for once I don't have any homework; please stay home and play with me?"

Tsuna, in front of his brother's puppy-dog-eyes, appeared entirely unmoved.

"Tsuyoshi," Tsuna chided him softly for acting this way, "You know that I have a meeting with Hibari; I've told you at least two days ago and every day since then; I can't blow him off because you're bored."

"But," Tsuyoshi sniffed as he held on tighter, "Why do you always hang out with him? He's so mean and every time you come back, you are always covered in bruises!"

Tsuna sighed a little, before turning to fully look his brother in the eye. He may be only 8 but he understood better than anyone Tsuyoshi's fear that something was going to happen to him; that he too would get kidnapped. No matter how many times Tsuna tells him that he's going to be fine, Tsuyoshi never listened. It was time for him to understand that Tsuna had a mission; and he couldn't indulge in Tsuyoshi's childish whims anymore.

"Listen," Tsuna began, making his tone just that colder, "I have to do this in order to be able to protect you and mother. I know you're worried and I'm happy that you care so much about me, but things have changed. There are bad people out there who won't hesitate to do things 10 times worse that what they did to you if we're not ready. Do you understand?"

For one terrible second, his little brother looked on the verge of tears, his eyes shining and his lips trembling slightly. Then, the moment passed and Tsuyoshi finally nodded.

"I understand."

"Good," Tsuna replied softly as he put a kiss on Tsuyoshi's forehead, "I shouldn't be long; stay home and take care of mom, would you? I have to go now. Fon-sensei will be their today and I want to make the most of his presence."

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_**Sawada Residence, Past, Tsuna Age: 8, Tsuyoshi Age: 7, year 2001**_

"I'm home," Tsuna called out to the empty halls as he took off his shoes and tried not to wince when his back injury reminded him that he shouldn't be moving so much. Tsuna didn't heed its warning of course, he was already use to battle wounds such as this and could tolerate it well enough; it was incredible how fast his pain tolerance has grown over the years.

It also helped that his usual training session with Hibari wasn't always this painful; Hibari may be a prodigy when it came to armed combat – that tonfa of his is deadly – but he was only 10. He wasn't all that bigger than Tsuna himself and only managed to one-up Tsuna because he had started training since he was only 5. His uncle, a small mysterious man by the name of Fon – Tsuna never questioned how someone who looked 2 could be Hibari's older uncle – trained with him at least twice a week; the other days, he would practice by himself.

The first time Tsuna sought Hibari out for training – that was a few month ago – Hibari had been less then willing to impart some of his knowledge. Luckily Tsuna didn't have to beg for a chance, because Fon had seen the exchange and had came over and told Tsuna he was happy to take Tsuna as his student. Fon was a busy man, so he won't be able to train the two more than 2 times a week; according to him, he had a full-time student who actually paid him to teach her. But nonetheless, Fon believed Tsuna to have some potential and wanted to see how far this potential went.

Trainings with Fon were a lot more demanding than simply training with Hibari; but they were also far more educational. With Fon's help and Tsuna's unwavering determination at getting better, the 8 years old has actually managed to catch up with Hibari in just over 6 month. Hibari, Tsuna knew, was dismayed by this new development; he had always prided himself in being a genius combatant, but now, there was this kid who only practiced for 6 month and was able to fight on equal grounds with him; it wasn't fair. If Hibari were any other child, he would have surely thrown a tantrum by now. Instead, Hibari worked harder than ever; hitting Tsuna with all he's got and managing, slowly but surely, to let go of the jalousie preventing the two from forming a friendship.

Today, Hibari had been particularly brutal in his attacks; either because it was evaluation day – Fon liked to hold these little tests to see how far they had gotten – or simply because he was in a bad mood. Although the match still ended in a draw, Tsuna came home with a lot of bruises then normal. Dirty and thirsty, all Tsuna wanted was to go to his room, take a bath and pass out on his bed. However, before he could do that, he had to check on Tsuyoshi. Their mother was obviously asleep and Tsuna was almost afraid to know what the kid go up to in his absence.

To his surprise, he found Tsuyoshi reading in his room; computer switched on but inactive. When Tsuna got closer, he got a second surprise when he saw that the volume Tsuyoshi had been so engrossed in was _Programming for Dummies._

"Never knew you were into computers, little brother," Tsuna commented curiously and smiled when Tsuyoshi jumped a little at his voice. However, he recovered quickly, and rushed up to Tsuna to greet him. As they hugged, Tsuna tried to suppress a wince when Tsuyoshi's grip got slightly tighter. Luckily, Tsuyoshi was much more in tune with Tsuna's body then Tsuna had thought because he immediately backed away with an apologetic smile.

"Do you need medical attention?"

Tsuna shook his head no; there were times when Tsuna would need Tsuyoshi's first aid skills, but today, he figured a little sleep would make things better.

"So, programming?" he asked as he sat on the edge of Tsuyoshi's bed – ignoring the disapproving glare his brother was sending his way – "Aren't you a little young for that; you've barely learnt how to read."

"Tsuna!" Tsuyoshi protested with an embarrassed blush, "That's not true, I've been reading steadily for the past 3 years. You know it so stop trying to treat me like a kid."

Ok, that was new…

Realizing that his brother was holding in more than he let on, Tsuna carefully approached the 7 years old and looked at him as seriously as an 8 years old can pull off.

"Why the sudden interest in computers?" he asked, because this was a good place to start.

Tsuyoshi took a few deep breaths before letting out a big sigh.

"You may try to hide things from me to protect me, brother, but I'm not an idiot, nor am I naïf. I know I have acted in such a way in the past year that may have made you think that I was – and I'm sorry for that. I've been thinking about your words and I have decided it was time to man up; those criminals didn't seem to care that I was only 6 at the time so I have to stop using my age as an excuse to not take any action. I know there's something shady going on and I want to help you stop it. The truth is, I'm not a fighter; I get stomach cramps when I think about violence, blood and all that stuff; I will never be able to defend our family like you do."

Tsuna opened his mouth to protest, already knowing where this was going, but shut it again when Tsuyoshi raised a hand to silence him.

"Let me finish; I may not be a fighter, but I'm also a member of this family. I refuse to let you sacrifice your body to protect us while I sit here watching TV! I have to do something; and if I can't fight, I'll gather information."

"Information?"

Tsuyoshi nodded.

"Programming is just a beginning; I need some basic knowledge before I venture into the world of hacking; don't tell me it's illegal and don't tell me it's wrong; when we're faced with people who don't even blink twice before literally torturing a 6 years old for days on end, we have to play dirty."

"But…what if you get caught?" Tsuna inquired softly, in the voice of someone knowing the other was right but didn't want to accept it just yet. "You're so young…"

Tsuyoshi rolled his eyes.

"I'm not that young; Arfa Karim was only 9 when she became a certified Microsoft Programmer; I don't know how she got to that position, I feel confident that I can live up to her image," he replied calmly and at that moment, Tsuna could suddenly see the man his brother will grow into; confident and proud, someone Tsuna would be honored to call him his sibling. And for that to happen, Tsuna realized, he needed to back down and let Tsuyoshi do his thing. Tsuyoshi needed space to flourish and he couldn't do that with Tsuna trying to protect him at every turn…but that doesn't mean Tsuna will stop being the overprotective brother he knows he is.

"Fine, I'll let this go," Tsuna conceded with a small smile as he ruffled his brother's hair; never mind he was barely a little taller than Tsuyoshi – especially sitting – but it was the thought that counts. "Do whatever you want but just don't get caught."

With that last piece of brotherly advice out there, Tsuna went to draw himself a bath; he had a lot of thinking to do.

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_**Unknown location, Past, Tsuna Age: 12, Tsuyoshi Age: 11, year 2005**_

After 4 years of training alongside Hibari and Fon, Tsuna prided himself in being rather good at locating any stalkers he may have; and for a kid barely a teen, he sure had a lot. But experience doesn't stop him, that Monday, from getting drugged with chloroform and stuffed in to a car.

When finally woke up from his drug induced state, he realized that he was tied to chair somewhere while a man sat few feet away tapping away on his laptop. From what Tsuna could see, he had taken Tsuna's cellphone from but not the small usb Tsuyoshi had given him containing a custom-locating device that he had programmed himself. At 11, Tsuyoshi could already do things with a computer that Tsuna had not even thought possible; he was turning out to be the very genius he had aspired to be.

However, before Tsuna could make use of the small device, he needed access to a computer – Tsuyoshi may be a genius programmer but he wasn't an engineer, he can't make a tracking device for Tsuna – and the only laptop available in this place was the one the guard was using. Quickly, Tsuna formed an escape plan; if he can get rid of his ropes, he was somewhat confident that he could take care of the guard. The problem was, he didn't know how many others were out there; fighting blind was very dangerous but Tsuna was also getting desperate.

As soon as his vision cleared a little, Tsuna groped around for something to use as a knife. Luckily, the chair he was tied to was rather old and had chunks of wood sticking out; it wasn't easy but Tsuna managed to pry a particularly sharp one from the whole ensemble and started to make work on his restraints. He hoped that he was lucky enough for the guard not to notice him.

His luck however ran out mere minutes later; because the guard looked up at Tsuna, realized he was awake and was making his way out of the chair and towards him, faster than someone his size should be able to. Tsuna knew he had to find a diversion tactic fast or he would notice that Tsuna's ropes weren't as tight as before. Fortunately, the dim interior of the room made it easier for Tsuna to hide his find, but he wasn't going to take any chances. Tsuna was going to have to do what he did best; be a smart-ass.

"Wow, you're big, but it's rather sad that you can't even overpower a kid without restraining him." A smirk was added in for good measure. Tsuna totally expected the hit to come, but that didn't make it any easier to take.

"You think that you're such a tough kid, don't you?" the man – Roger as he was called - sneered as he loomed over Tsuna, looking pretty threatening with the way he now had a gun – a Colt single action army revolver, Tsuna recognized, a pretty old gun but would do the job – pressed against the kid's temple. Tsuna was impressed that one comment was all it took to rile this man up; he really needed anger management classes.

And since Tsuna wanted him distracted, he told him so.

Another hit came; this one harder than the previous one; Tsuna could already feel his split lip throbbing steadily.

Even through the pain of getting backhanded numerous times across the face, Tsuna was still conscious enough to observe his surroundings for a better idea of where he was; although it was not easy, the small overhead light permitted him to make out the dim interior of a warehouse. Judging from the insignia on the man's uniform and the sign on one of the warehouse walls, Tsuna concluded that his kidnapper must have taken a job here as a night watchman so that he can access this place after dark.

Tsuna really hated when his enemies turn out to be not that dumb after all.

"Well, I wouldn't call myself tough," Tsuna replied with an arrogant smirk, ignoring the way his split lip was bleeding once more; internally he knew that he was playing a dangerous game, especially in his position, but he needed the other distracted so that he wouldn't notice how Tsuna was slowly but surely cutting away at his restraints. And the man was at his most distracted when he was angry. "Maybe you're just weak."

Despite totally expecting the punch, Tsuna couldn't help but gasp at the pain it produced. Great; the man just had to punch him in the eye; now he can only see through one of them.

"You're lucky my boss want you alive, kid," he hissed angrily as he stared Tsuna down, "If it were up to me, you would be dead by now."

"Oh?" Tsuna replied as bored as he could sound, "Why would your boss want with a nobody like me?"

"Who knows…" Roger snorted in disgust as he kicked at the floor with one scuffed shoe – for one absurd second, Tsuna wondered if the man was jealous of the attention his Boss was paying Tsuna, "Said something about you knowing things that you shouldn't have known; but I don't really believe him; you're just a brat to me…you can't be that important. What are you? 13?"

"Right on the money," Tsuna smirked again, "Maybe you're not as stupid as you seem."

The big oaf was obviously about to swing at Tsuna again to shut him up, when his cellphone started to ring; the ringtone loud and clear in the spacious room. Knowing that it was his boss and ignoring it would probably lend his ass in to some serious trouble, the giant turned around with a huff and headed towards outside for some privacy.

As soon as the door closed behind him, Tsuna sprang in to action, aware that he didn't have a lot of time to implant his escape plan. The ropes, which were already cut through, easily tore, liberating his arms. Without his upper body tied up, Tsuna quickly liberated his legs with an efficiency that only came with a lot of practice.

10 seconds have passed since the other man had left; Tsuna gave him another utmost a minute before he came back. There was no way anyone would leave a prisoner without supervision long.

He ran towards the laptop the man had been using, woke it from its sleeping state and inserted the drive. Seconds later, the program started to do its job, sending the coordinates to a mirror computer in Tsuyoshi's room. Now, all he had to do was call his brother.

With his phone – which he retrieved from Roger's jacket – Tsuna dialed the emergency number that Tsuyoshi had given him. Mere seconds later, his little brother answered.

"Tsuna! Oh thank god, where are you?"

"I kind of got my self kidnapped," Tsuna admitted as nonanchantly as possible, "I sent the coordinates to your laptop; I can't talk long, I don't know when my kidnapper will come back."

"Ok, ok," Tsuyoshi answered, obviously trying to keep calm, "I got it; from what I can see, there's a highway near the place that leads to Nanimori park, just drive straight and take exit 8; if you can find a car that is, if you can't, there should be a taxi stand right from their, maximum five minutes away. good luck."

Tsuna hung up just in time for the metal doors to swing open. A man came in, this one dressed in a black suit instead of worker's clothing; this, the teen concluded, must be the famous Boss. Said boss already had his gun out and was pointing it directly at Tsuna's head; Tsuna didn't need the training to see that it was going to be direct hit.

"So you managed to escape; I'm not surprised," the man begin in a soft voice, his weapon as steady as ever; he didn't sound the least angry that his minion didn't manage to guard Tsuna as well as he should; for some absurd reason, Tsuna thought he almost sounded proud, "You would have done great in my Familia, Tsunayoshi; so young yet so resourceful; won't you join me?"

"Hell no," Tsuna spat, "You kidnap me and offer me a job? What kind of twisted person are you?"

"Well, I'm not really a person," the Boss replied with a snicker, "I'm a Mafioso; we seem to be in a category of our own. You should know Tsunayoshi, considering your family history."

Before Tsuna could ask him what he meant, the other man raised his weapon a little and said:

"You're a fun opponent to play against, Tsunayoshi; since it's obvious you're not interested in what I have to offer, too bad you're going to die right now."

And without any ceremony, he fired.

As if cemented to the ground and unable to move, Tsuna could only watch in horror as the bullet efficiently cut through the air towards him at a speed he would never be able to dodge; no matter how much training he had. If Tsuna was honest, up until now, his contact with the underworld had been rather limited. Sure he was aware of the things they could do to him but it has never really sunk in just yet. He was still too naïf for his own good; but on the other hand, nothing could really prepare someone for the certainty that they were going to die.

All Tsuna could do was close his eyes and pray.

_Please, oh god please, I can't die here; I have to protect my mom and my brother; please help me._

He continued this way for a while, simply mumbling to himself, too frozen to do anything else. It was only when he calmed down a little that he realized that there were something wrong with the situation.

Actually, two something wrongs; one, the bullet should have reached him by now - there was no way the other man could have missed; not from this distance. Two; his surroundings were way too quiet; even the sound of the highway outside had disappeared.

Tsuna slowly opened his one good eye and peered around him; he nearly gasped in shock when he saw the bullet, frozen in mid-air just a few feet from his head. The shooter, gun hand still in the air, finger still on the trigger, was looking in his direction, expression of triumph frozen on his features. A cursory onceover of the warehouse interior only made things weirder; the faucet which had been dripping water steadily for the last hour had stopped in mid-drop; it was almost if everything was frozen in time.

_Oh my god…_

Almost as in a dream, Tsuna reached out a hand and touched the frozen bullet; it fell to the floor soundlessly. Then Tsuna made his way towards the Mafioso, adrenaline fueling his every action as he pulled the still body towards the chair he had been tied to for the past few hours. After he forced the man down, Tsuna grabbed the rope, tied the man's wrist as tightly as possible and pocketed the gun. Once that was done, he made his way towards the warehouse entrance.

Almost in a daze, Tsuna walked past the frozen guard, only stopping to pickpocket the man's car keys, and headed towards the Jeep the man obviously arrived in. It was only after he reached Nanimori Park that he finally slowed down enough to breath; as soon as he relaxed, something snapped within him and the world around burst in to life once more.

_Huh_, Tsuna thought to himself as he watched the other cars drive past his parking spot, _never knew that was possible._

* * *

_**Sawada Residence, Past, Tsuna Age: 12, Tsuyoshi Age: 11, year 2005**_

"Oh thank god, Tsuna, you're alive!"

Tsuyoshi's usually calm voice was getting more and more hysterical by the moment; something that wasn't helping his headache at all. Luckily, his brother was aware enough to help Tsuna to a sofa and rushed off to get the first aid kit.

Cleaning Tsuna's face was easy; and once the blood was gone, he sighed in relief.

"You're not that hurt," he told him, "just a black eye and a split lip; you're lucky you got off so easily."

"Yeah, yeah," Tsuna grumbled, not feeling lucky at all, "Hey, Tsuyoshi, I need you do some research for me."

"Research?"

"Yeah, my kidnapper said something about our family being involved in the mafia; try to find something about that, will you?"

"Got it."

* * *

_**Hibari Residence, Past, Tsuna Age: 12, Tsuyoshi Age: 11, year 2005**_

"So, I'm telling you; everything just came to a standstill! It was incredible."

Sitting across from him, Hibari Kyoya, 14, looked anything but impressed. In fact, the teen was looking back at Tsuna as if he had finally lost his mind.

"Stopping time is impossible," he finally said, "maybe you just had a concussion."

"And how would you explain how I managed to escape?"

"Dumb luck?"

Tsuna gaped at him in outrage.

"Kyoya!"

Before Hibari could answer, the window flew open and a small figure dressed in traditional Chinese garb jumped on to the sill before making his way in to the room.

Fon looked between his cousin and his student, smiling serenely.

"Now, now, Kyoya," he chided the other boy, "you should let Tsuna have a chance to prove it to you before you call him a liar."

"Not a liar," Hibari protested, "just hallucinating."

"Great," Tsuna said sarcastically, "That's much better."

Fon ignored the byplay and came to sit near the brown-haired teen.

"Show me?"

Tsuna sighed before nodding; closing his eyes once more, he tried to get back the feeling; the warmth he had felt that day at the warehouse. It wasn't easy, considering that there was no bullet threatening to drill a hole in his head, but after a while, he knew he succeeded when everything simply stopped; no more sound, no more movement.

He slowly opened his eyes, taking in the way Hibari's mouth was opened in mid-talk and the way Fon's ponytail was almost floating in mid-air. Tsuna could resist flipping Hibari on the nose for his comment earlier but resisted doing anything more. He tried moving around a little, but soon realized that without adrenaline fueling his movements, he could barely keep this sensation for more than a moment. Before he knew, something snapped and the world around him burst in to life.

The last thing he saw before fainting was the twin looks of shock on Hibari's and Fon's faces.

_It was so worth it._

* * *

_**Training Grounds, Past, Tsuna Age: 15, Tsuyoshi Age: 14, year 2008**_

"Really good Tsuna," Fon praised him as Tsuna effortlessly dodged an attack from Hibari's tonfa, the other teen was obviously getting frustrated by the lack of success and was becoming more and more unstable, "You're getting pretty good at this."

Tsuna smiled proudly to himself before trying to land a blow on his own.

Over the years, Tsuna has developed a fighting style that was purely him; it involved martial arts and his "magic" as he started to call it. It wasn't a really imaginative name, but Tsuna didn't know what he should call being able to move things with his mind and stop time. Time stopping power was too much of a mouthful and didn't really englobe all his abilities. So now, he just calls it magic.

Using magic wasn't as easy as he had hoped; sure it made him stronger in ways he had never thought possible; it also tired him pretty fast. Stopping time would usually leave him panting on the ground after about 20 minutes; it was a formidable weapon against one attacker; but against an army of them? Tsuna can only use it to run far, far away. His other power involves him being able to move things with his mind; he got pretty good throwing people around with that power, but once again, stamina was a big problem. Sorely relying on his magic was a mistake that he will never make again; but he realized that magic with martial art was a pretty good combination; all he had to do was to be smart about it.

Like right now; his attack didn't land like he had expected but distracted Hibari enough for Tsuna to use a small amount of magic to arrange a log for Hibari to trip on. Tsuna snickered at the look of surprise on the other teen's face when he stepped on something round instead of the firm ground and gave Tsuna the opening he needed to land the final blow.

Later, once both were patched up and sitting in Hibari's living room, Hibari turned to him with a glare.

"You cheated," he snapped.

"No I didn't," Tsuna replied cheerfully, "I was smart and I won; don't glare at me that way Kyoya, don't be jealous because I have magic and you don't."

"You're a menace," Hibari concluded.

Tsuna shrugged.

* * *

**NATURE VS NURTURE**

**TARGET 1 REBORN – THE HEIR**

* * *

_**Italy, Present, Tsuna Age: 16, Tsuyoshi Age: 15, year 2009**_

The Blue Rose Bar, situated in the Sicily region, in the city of Palermo, Italy, was one of the best-known drinking establishments in the area. Not only does it boast a friendly, relaxing atmosphere – thanks to a mixture of low lightings and a great sound system – it also serves some of the best alcohol in the country. Americano, Negroni, Cardinale, Bellini, Rosinni, etc; you name it; almost every concoction known to man can be found there, for a reasonable prize nonetheless. The Blue Rose Bar isn't a tourist trap like some of the other mainstream bars around the region; it's just a business that enjoys serving people drinks that they can actually afford. And perhaps that was why it was so inviting to locals and outsiders alike.

Like many other bars in Italy, the Blue Rose also had "secret rooms" for special meetings; in other words, meetings between different mafia families. The bar had become over the years, a rather well-known middle ground for negotiations. The owner, Pablo Curian – who also happens to be bartender – is particularly proud of his achievement…especially when his business grew important enough to start to attract some of the higher members of the Vongola Family. Pablo may not be a member of the Italian Mafia himself, but his brother and sister were both neck deep; he knows just how important the Vongola Family is to the Mafia world. He, who had always refused any actual involvement with the Mafia beyond offering them a place to meet, was starting to realize that he wouldn't actually mind joining the Vongola. They were actually an oddity in the Mafia world; not only because they were huge, but because they were more focused on maintaining order in the Mafia world than make money by doing shady transactions with people who will inevitably stab you in the back the moment they have the chance. In fact, the Vongola just happens to the family with the largest number of legitimate businesses in the world. Despite being good at gathering information, Pablo still doesn't understand the logic behind Vongola Ninth's management style.

Anyway, the Blue Rose had new comers and regulars; and one of regular faces Pablo sees in his bar, is surprisingly the Ninth's most trusted hitman, Reborn. The first time Pablo had met Reborn, he had told him that there was no way on earth he was serving alcohol to a minor. He only relented when Reborn shot twice at his head and told him if he was old enough to carry a gun, he was old enough to drink. Pablo had found logic in that argument so he agreed, not even bothering to ask why Reborn even had a gun. When he discovered Reborn's real identity, shock was a mild word to describe what he had felt.

The thing is, he doesn't quite get why Reborn even bothers to come back so often. He seems to be a busy man and it's not like he and Pablo were friends. But nonetheless, on every Friday, he would appear on one of the stools around 5 and order a Martini. Pablo wanted to comment how predictability could lead to a hitman's death, but he refrained. After all, Reborn most likely knew and was just too confident in his own skills to pay it any attention.

On Friday April 2nd, Reborn appeared right on time and Pablo had to admit that he was rather surprised by the man's appearance, for he had heard Reborn was being sent to Japan on a special mission for the Ninth.

"_**I didn't expect to see you here so soon, Reborn**_," the bartender commented as the diminutive hitman jumped swiftly on to his usual stool, _**"I thought you were going to be out of the country for a few month."**_

If Reborn was the type to shrug, he would have done it at that moment; instead he told Pablo to not ask questions and go bring him a Martini. RNot at all offended by the hitman's attitude, the bartender went on to prepare the order and when it was done, he slid it across the bar and accepted the bill of 20 that Reborn handed to him.

He was just about to leave to tend to someone else when Reborn finally spoke up:

"_**I'm leaving right now actually**_," he admitted in a tone that almost sounded as if he wasn't sure why he was telling him this; Pablo could sympathize, it was so out of character for Reborn that he would have reached over and see if the other had a fever…if that won't get his hand shot off, _**"And I don't know if it will be a few month or longer than that. It all depends on how well it goes."**_

Instead of dwelling on this new development, the bartender gave Reborn a shark-like grin, belying the inner confusion he was feeling at the moment.

"_**You're training a replacement heir for the Ninth, aren't you? My sources say that the old man isn't really happy with Xanxus right now**_."

He wondered if admitting that to the hitman had really been a good idea when in response, Reborn gave him a sharp look.

"_**I'm not sure where you get all your information but I know I don't have to tell you to be quiet about it. God knows what will happen if Xanxus catches wind of this affair. The Varia is unstable as it is, we do not need a trigger to send them over the edge**_."

The man mimed zipping his mouth, relieved that Reborn wasn't going to do anything against him; dealing with trigger-happy mafia types really wasn't good for his heart: "_**Don't worry, you know me; I only listen and doesn't gave.**_"

Reborn resisted the urge to roll his eyes; the man may be an idiot sometimes but he was a very well informed idiot; Reborn was actually impressed by the network of contacts he had managed to build up over the years. Granted, it wasn't as good as Reborn's but on the other hand, Reborn's job was to be the best, while the other man's job was to serve drinks. It wouldn't be fair to compare them based on something like this.

Finishing the rest of his drink in a gulp, Reborn jumped off the stool and headed to the door. He ignored the cheerful goodbye the bartender threw after him.

His customary black SUV was waiting for him at the front; his driver quickly came around and opened the door for him to get in. It was only when he was inside he took out a piece of paper out of his pocket.

It was a profile of his sons that Iemitsu had given him a few days ago. The first profile was of Tsuyoshi; the boy the ninth has chosen to be heir. Reborn knew that the older brother Tsuna should have been the heir if it weren't for the fact that Tsuyoshi had displayed rather early his capacity of using flames, while Tsuna showed no inkling that he also has the power. Tsuyoshi was also a more outgoing child in some ways, which Iemitsu translated to "potentially good leadership skills". Personally, Reborn found it laughable that the man made a decision as important as this based on information he gathered 10 years ago. Reborn knew from experience that children can change a lot if you don't see them for a very long time; and there was no doubt in Reborn's mind that 5 years old Tsuna or 5 years old Tsuyoshi was going to be a lot different than teenage Tsuna or Tsuyoshi. Iemitsu was an idiot and the profile only cemented that opinion in Reborn's mind.

The profile read:

**Tsuyoshi Sawada**

**Age at present**: 15

**Eyes**: Brown

**Skills**: None

**Personality**: Shy

The first thing Reborn noticed was the dearth of information on the page, but he guessed it was the best the man could do considering that the last time he had seen his family was 11 years ago. Nana did yearly check-ups with him but never said anything interesting about the boys and Iemitsu refused to have spies sent to gather information on his family. The ninth agreed for some reason so Reborn was left with an outdated report and no game plan to boot.

It wasn't the start of a successful mission.

* * *

_**Sawada Residence, Japan, Present, Tsuna Age: 16, Tsuyoshi Age: 15, year 2009**_

"Wake up, little brother, you're going to be late," Tsuna singsonged as he unceremoniously dragged Tsuyoshi's comforter off him, receiving an undignified squeak for his efforts, "We have to go; first day of school and all, being late is unacceptable."

"You're way too chipper for this time of the morning," Tsuyoshi growled in reply, as menacingly as he can, with his hair still sticking up in every direction possible; he was still half asleep, his mind so fuzzy that he could barely stand straight without tripping on nothing; that was the kind of morning person Tsuyoshi was.

It was no secret in the Sawada Houshold that Tsuyoshi Sawada hated mornings with a passion. If pressed for details, he will tell whoever asked that he hated it more than he hated that May kid in middle school who enjoyed throwing paper balls at him at every given opportunity, and since he had spent most of that year writing death threats to her in his head, that was saying something.

Tsuna, on the other hand, was a morning freak. Most days, he would already be up and dressed by 6:30, finished preparing breakfast by 7 (on mornings Nana wasn't home – she had started taking knitting lessons at a community college. The classes usually started very early so she had to get there before even Tsuna wakes up), and was patiently waiting for his brother to groggily make his way out of his room and in to the adjoined bathroom. By the time Tsuyoshi finally finished brushing his teeth and donned on his uniform, Tsuna would have already waited 30 minutes. Tsuyoshi really do not understand why Tsuna wanted to wake up so early; school doesn't even start until 8:45 and since they lived 20 minutes away, there was no need to hurry. They can probably make it even if they leave 20 minutes pas 8. But Tsuna was Tsuna; he refused to rush these kinds of things and would nag and nag Tsuyoshi to hurry up until the teen finally gave in. So now Tsuyoshi also get to school 20 minutes before the beginning of class; it was not a happy development.

God, his brother can be so weird sometimes.

When Tsuyoshi finally came down the stairs, dressed and ready to go, he wasn't surprise in the least that the clock on the kitchen wall only indicated 7:55. Tsuna didn't seem to find the early hour strange; he was humming happily to himself as he prepared their morning omelet; expertly flipping the ingredients in a pre-greased pan. Of course, it smelled fantastic; Tsuna has always been a God in the kitchen; he loved to cook and would pick up techniques as easy as 1-2-3. Tsuyoshi would have been jealous if it wasn't for the fact that his wonderful big brother can't seem to make a decent cup of coffee to save his life. The few times he did try, he either added too much water to the mix or not enough; in consequence, the coffee was either too diluted to drink or way too concentrated to take. Tsuyoshi had tried to show Tsuna his way of making it; but he soon discovered that it was a lost cause. However, if he had to be honest, he didn't try that hard to get Tsuna to succeed; he kind of liked the fact that Tsuna wasn't that well rounded in Home Economics as he liked to think. So now every morning, Tsuna made breakfast and Tsuyoshi made coffee; it was a well-established routine that satisfied them both.

With the coffee maker gurgling away happily, Tsuyoshi took a seat at the breakfast table and spent the next few minutes just watching Tsuna cook. Tsuna was a true master of his craft. His movements were elegant and the way he held the spatula showed his ease with what he was doing; something that could only come with practice. Tsuyoshi had once, a long time ago, tried to learn to cook by watching his brother; that plan was quickly abandoned when he realized just how different practice and theory was. He'll stick with his coffee for now.

He continued his silent observation and if Tsuna was aware of Tsuyoshi's gaze, he didn't show any signs of it. Instead, he continued flipping the omelet while humming the same song as before; Tsuyoshi had always been impressed with Tsuna's ability to concentrate; a marching band could be playing here and Tsuna would still be happily cooking away; if it was Tsuyoshi, he would have fidgeted nervously until whoever was watching him turned away or get so distracted that he would end up burning his food. Programming is the only thing he can do without letting his mind wonder.

After another few moments of confortable silence, something he had heard a few days ago entered his mind and Tsuyoshi couldn't help but ask: "Why didn't you tell me you have a soccer match today after school?"

Tsuna looked surprised for a moment and shrugged. He bought his finished omelet over in a plate, set it down in front of his brother, before answering.

"It's not an official match," he replied, "It's more of a practice then a match actually. Since I was on the Varsity team back in middle school, the coach want us to play against his current players, to see how well we fare. Most members on the team are 3rd years; the Coach is pretty desperate to get some new blood before the Spring tournament. Also, there's apparently some big shot player from England who will attend Nanimori as an exchange student for the next 3 years; he's here on a scholarship and is supposed to be really good; Coach's been waiting for his arrival with impatience. He wants to try him out so this is the perfect opportunity."

"Hmmm," Tsuyoshi replied non-committedly as he chewed on his second bite of the, admittedly, delicious omelet, "I'm going to the computer club after school; I'll come join you at the lockers after you're done so we can walk home together."

Tsuna gave Tsuyoshi a big grin at that, making the teen blush slightly; it wasn't his fault really, Tsuna's smiles always had that effect on people. Tsuyoshi would know, considering the number of times that Tsuna used that smile to get what he wanted. When he was young, people would see that beaming face and would coo at how cute Tsuna was; usually by that time, Tsuna would ask for the moon and people would gave it to him. Once he was older and taller (thanks to puberty), his smile still had the same effect; however instead of attracting middle-aged mothers, Tsuna attracted teenage girls – and boys – like bee to honey. Tsuyoshi will never admit it, but in these instances, Tsuna wasn't the one he was jealous of.

He was so distracted by Tsuna that he failed to notice how on edge his glass of juice was until his elbow managed to knock it over. Tsuyoshi could only watch in horror as it fell, already dreading the cleanup he will have to do when in a millisecond, the glass disappeared and reappeared on the table once more. Tsuyoshi turned to look at Tsuna, just in time to see the teen's eyes slowly returning from the golden brown they always sported whenever the other used his powers. Even now, Tsuyoshi still had difficulty believing that his brother had the power to stop time; it sounded like something out of a fantasy movie; but the proof was right there, and now that using the power was easier to Tsuna, he started to use it more often than not. Luckily for everyone's nerves, the only time Tsuna uses the power out of batter was to either finish homework he hadn't have time to finish (Tsuyoshi still find that one pretty unfair – if he forgot to finish his work the previous day, he doesn't have the luxury to stopping time so that he can finish it in the morning), or stop everyday disasters like this from happening. Tsuyoshi shudders at what Tsuna could do if he decided to use his powers for evil.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Tsuyoshi turned his attention back to his big brother. While he had been daydreaming – or whatever that was…fearing for the future? - Tsuna had brought over the last of the omelets and had sat down on the chair opposite Tsuyoshi. He took a big bite out of his food before giving his brother a thumb up.

It was going to be a good day.

* * *

_**Nanimori High School, Present, Tsuna Age: 16, Tsuyoshi Age: 15, year 2009**_

As it turned out however, it wasn't a good day for Tsuyoshi. And it all started the moment they reached school grounds.

Nanimori High School had the particularity of being the continuation of Nanimori Middle School. In other words, the same students who went to school with them last year, would continue going to school with them this year. In some way, it was easier for students to live through the transition since they won't be in an entirely new environment. Those who were friends and who hung out together in middle school also stuck together in High School. The downside of everything was that those, like Tsuyoshi, who didn't have many friends a year ago, wouldn't have the opportunity to meet new people.

Tsuna didn't seem to mind having to endure another 3 years of schooling with the same people. In fact, he looked delighted by the assembled freshmen, greeting people left and right, looking every bit like the popular guy he was. All Tsuyoshi could do was follow closely behind his brother and trying not to get trampled by the crowd.

As he walked, he couldn't help but wonder where Hibari was or even where the rest of the disciplinary comity was. He would have thought that the first day of school would a hunting ground for Hibari; all those people hugging, yelling, running all around the place or simply hanging about – it was everything Hibari despised with a burning passion; not seeing him there threatening everyone was weird. Tsuyoshi could see some of the other freshmen, those who weren't too intimidated by the fact they were now in High school, also seemed concerned. Tsuyoshi heard a young girl ask her brother if Hibari was indeed going here and if he is, where he was. "Oh god," the girl said to her companion, "Don't tell me Hibari-sempai is hiding in the shadows, waiting to jump out at the first unsuspecting arrival!"

Despite doing his best to assure his hysterical sibling that Hibari was not that subtle, the boy looked terrified. Tsuyoshi sympathized with him; if he wasn't so used to seeing Hibari beating people up – or beating his brother up (that isn't what it sounds like) – he too would have arrived at school looking like that. Don't get him wrong; Hibari still scared the hell out of him but at least he knew that the Prefect would never hurt him as long as Tsuna was standing. Actually, it wasn't a very comforting thought.

"Hey Tsuna," he couldn't help but ask when they reached the entrance of the school, "Where's Hibari anyway?"

"Oh, he's not here," Tsuna explained with an amused smile, obviously not missing the way Tsuyoshi actually slumped in relief, "The headmaster…convinced him that the first day of school should be quite discipline free. He invited Hibari to do everything he feels like in order to maintain school peace…starting tomorrow."

"Oh, thank god for a headmaster with a back bone," he mumbled. Tsuna evidently agreed. Their middle school headmaster was a joke; intimidating him to do your biding was as easy as taking candy from a baby.

The rest of the walk passed in silence, partly because they have nothing else to say and partly because it was almost impossible to get Tsuna to hear him without shouting. It was actually pretty peaceful, if you ignored the cacophony of voices around them. Tsuyoshi wanted it to stay this way, but alas, it wasn't meant to be.

They have barely reached their assigned lockers – 27 for Tsuna and 28 for Tsuyoshi – when Tsuna's blasted fanclub found them. At their head was May's older sister Satsuki, and despite not being a bully like May, she was still annoying as hell. Particularly because she somehow got it in her head that her position as the founder of their little fanclub gave her some kind of claim on Tsuna. Tsuyoshi would have literally tore her head off, yelling how Tsuna was his and no one else's…if it wouldn't get him labeled as crazy. Instead, he watched her saunter up to his brother, looking like an over-sexed Barbie doll. Tsuyoshi's only comfort was that Tsuna didn't look the least happy to see her.

"Sawada-san," she greeted him with what she probably thought was a seductive smile, "I see we'll be in the same Homeroom this year."

"Say what?" Tsuyoshi spluttered and was expectedly ignored.

"Satsuki-san," Tsuna interjected before Tsuyoshi could say something insulting – not that she doesn't deserve it or anything, "You already got the class list?"

From the pocket of her skirt, Satsuki produced a copy of the class list and handed to Tsuna.

"You can keep that one, I have a copy in my bag; well, see you later in class Sawada-san."

With one last wink in Tsuna's direction, she and her twin bimbos left, leaving a cloud of cheap perfume.

Tsuyoshi coughed.

"So is what she said true?"

Tsuna was frowning over the piece of paper, his eyebrows knotted together. He looked frustrated with what he was seeing and didn't know how to make it better. After what seemed like an eternity, he finally sighed and handed the page to Tsuyoshi, who took it without prompting.

He glanced down at the list.

"I can't believe we aren't even in the same homeroom!" he exclaimed after a while, "That's just not fair; we've always been together! How am I going to protect you?!"

Tsuna snorted but his expression was hidden behind his locker door.

"I'm always the one who had to get you away from bullies remember?"

"But-"

"Not to mention you tend to get severe headaches whenever you are forced to exert even a little bit of violence on someone. You're the computer guy, Tsuyoshi and I'm happy for you to stay that way; it's safer."

Tsuyoshi blushed.

"Come on," Tsuna said, his books and Tsuyoshi's books already in hand, "let's get to class; I think first it's math, at least we have that class together."

As they made their way towards the math classroom, Tsuyoshi prayed internally for his day to get better.

* * *

_**Nanimori High School, Present, Tsuna Age: 16, Tsuyoshi Age: 15, year 2009**_

And of course, it only got worse…

After classes were finally over, Tsuyoshi joined two of his classmates for a snack at the cafeteria, before heading towards the computer labs on the 6th floor. When he finally reached it, huffing and puffing after having walked up three flights of stairs – the elevator was broken – he wasn't surprised to find it almost empty, except for a group of girls sitting together near one of the room's windows; he saw it was the one overlooking the field where the soccer team would be practicing.

Rolling his eyes at how predictable they were, Tsuyoshi took his usual place in the corner and booted up the computer. It took some time too, because the school computers were so old that they actually use Windows 2000 as an operating system. It was a disgrace, in Tsuyoshi's expert opinion; Windows 2000 was so last century that it wasn't even funny anymore. Tsuyoshi felt bad just touching them; really, he did, and if he could bring his laptop to school, or if the school had a wireless network like most educational establishments in the country, he wouldn't have to debase himself in this way. Luckily the hacking program he had written worked on Windows 2000 as well as it did on his computer back home; it was the only preventing him from throwing the piece of junk out of the window…that and suspension for violating school property. Tsuna would not be amused.

When the login prompt finally appeared, Tsuyoshi entered his username and password and waited for the thing to load. As he did, his gaze unintentionally swept the room and landed on the 3 girls by the window. The tallest one of them, a pixie head Junior by the looks of her uniform, was giggling and pointing out the window to the ground below. Tsuyoshi didn't have to be a genius…or to speak "girl" for that matter…to guess what she was pointing at. His suspicions were confirmed when Pixie-head girl said: "Oh my god, is that the superhot exchange student from England? I have to get his number; his accent is to die for."

"You don't even hear his accent unless he's speaking in English," Tsuyoshi wanted to tell them, "and you won't even be able understand him if he did."

But girls were girls, and their logic was sometime so weird and convoluted that Tsuyoshi doesn't even bother trying to understand. Instead he turned his attention back to his computer. At least, geek speech he gets.

After checking his emails for new info from the hacker sites he had subscribed to – unfortunately, no new news – he logged on to the Vongola Website to see if anything has changed.

Ever since that day when Tsuna has asked him to look in to their family history - 8 years ago -, Tsuyoshi kept a close eye on the Vongola. Why? As it turns it, Vongola 1st was actually a relative of the family; Tsuyoshi wasn't sure how he felt about being related to a criminal, he was even more shocked when some hacking got him the information that their father, Iemitsu, was also a member of that organization. Tsuyoshi had tried to hack in to the Vongola database some time ago, and was dismayed to find that the type of security they surrounded their whole system with was nearly impossible to crack. He could dig deeper but the last time he did, he almost didn't make it out with his IP address intact. He wasn't about to risk exposing himself just yet.

Luckily for Tsuyoshi, one of the Vongola's ally family, the Cavallone also have a website and a pretty active forum. Compared to the Vongola's site, the Cavallone's was so easy to access that it was almost like taking candy from a baby. Tsuyoshi made sure to check it from time to time for news of the underworld. Although the last few years have been pretty assassin free for the Sawada Family, neither Tsuyoshi nor Tsuna trusted this trend to continue. The moment something shifts, Tsuyoshi would know. Consequently he will tell Tsuna about it, and trust his brother to plan out the proper response.

Today, the Forum was busier than ever; a cursory once over of all the posts told Tsuyoshi that it had to do with the Vongola Ninth. Apparently the old man decided that his current heir, Xanxus, was unfit to succeed the family business. The replacement heir he found was somewhere in Japan and train him, the Ninth would be sending his most trusted assassin…Reborn.

Reborn was truly a very well kept secret; even digging through the forum for more than an hour yielded no more info about who he really was, what he looked like and what his skills were. Tsuyoshi hated when there's a dearth of information about a certain topic; he can't advise his brother properly if he doesn't even know what they were dealing with. All he knew is that Reborn would probably land in Japan some time today; Tsuyoshi wondered if his arrival would kick start another wave of assassins. God, he hoped not.

This day was getting worse and worse already and it wasn't even over yet. Tsuyoshi was sure it was going to go to hell by the end of the day.

* * *

_**Sawada Residence, Present, Tsuna Age: 16, Tsuyoshi Age: 15, year 2009**_

"How was your day Tsuyoshi?" Tsuna asked as he and Tsuyoshi made their way home from school. Tsuna was still wearing his soccer uniform, the shorts slightly dirty from where he had fallen to the ground. He sported a few bruises on his arms but otherwise looked fine.

"Terrible," Tsuyoshi mumbled, "Getting cornered by that Fanclub of yours, getting assigned homework on the first day and not to mention what I've found out regarding the Vongola."

Tsuna's eyes immediately sharpened at that.

"Tell me."

So Tsuyoshi did; he told him about the forums, about the rumours, about the heir, about Reborn. It took him their entire walk home to finish but he managed it. As Tsuyoshi was looking for his keys to unlock the door, Tsuna still looked contemplative. Tsuyoshi wondered what was happening in that mind of his.

However, just as he was about to push the door open, he nearly jumped when it opened itself. Nana stood at the opening, a welcoming smile on his face.

"Oh, you boys are home," Nana exclaimed happily when she saw them, " I thought I heard the key. I was at the back all afternoon, admiring the garden. I also got the mail on my way in; and guess what? I found a really interesting flyer! I've been waiting for you boys to come home so that I can show it to you.

Curious both boys followed their mother to the kitchen, where she had deposited all the letters on to the counter. On the top of the pile was a colorful ad of some kind.

Nana grabbed it and brandished her find in front of her, before spreading it out and started to read:

"I will raise your child to be the leader of the next generation. Oh doesn't this sound marvelous. I want to get him as a tutor for you, Tsuyoshi"

Tsuyoshi gaped at her, having totally not expected that; she was thinking of getting him a tutor? Granted his grades weren't as good as Tsuna's (product of too many hours spent programming), but he wasn't exactly failing. With his current ranking, he could probably get in to a second-rate university; he never thought that Nana may have higher objectives for him. Tsuna must have thought the same thing as Tsuyoshi because he too looked taken aback.

"Probably a prank, mom, and I don't need a tutor," Tsuyoshi told her decisively with a shrug, "Let me see."

Nana handed it over without much resistance and waited for Tsuyoshi to read. The teen did, rolling his eyes in amusement at some of the more outrageous claims. However, his smile fell and his heart stopped in his ribcage when he saw the name signed at the end.

_Reborn_…shit.

Tsuyoshi would have liked to believe that this was a coincidence, really he would, but if there was one thing these past years taught him was that willful ignorance will never end well. Thus, it was with his heart in his throat that he asked Nana for some time to think and practically dragged his brother up the stairs.

Once the door closed, Tsuyoshi rounded up on Tsuna, nearly shoved the flyer in to his face.

"Look at the bottom," he told his brother.

Tsuna's face paled as he took in the name signed at the end.

"Don't tell me…"

Tsuyoshi nodded.

"Looks like it's him; you know what that means, right?"

Tsuna nodded.

"One of us is the heir."

And almost anticlimactically, their bedroom door was kicked open with such a force that the knob probably left a dent where it hit the wall. Both boys turned around in surprise, their bodies tense as if expecting a battle; however they had not expected the suit-wearing toddler standing in the hall.

"Ciaossu," he said with a smirk, "I'm Reborn and I'll be your tutor."

Tsuyoshi had been right; this day just officially went to hell.

* * *

_**Sawada Residence, Present, Tsuna Age: 16, Tsuyoshi Age: 15, year 2009**_

Not many people were aware of this but Reborn had a huge flair for dramatics. It doesn't really go with his job, he knows, what with the requirement of being able to blend in with your surroundings that comes with being a hitman, but he liked to indulge himself from time to time. So instead of knocking on the brothers' closed door to alert them of his presence, he kicked it open with a bang, and stalked in as if he owned the place. He was secretly delighted when his little show drudged up a look of dismay and shock on the face of one of the boys standing there, and a look of confusion on the other. _So these two are the Sawada brothers..._

While the brothers stared at him in growing horror at his little introduction, Reborn calmly took the time to make his preliminary analyse of the situation. His gaze landed on the boy and the left and travelled to the boy on the right; all the while trying to guess who was who. Normally, it was standard protocol for a mission where he had a target whether to kill, interrogate or train, to always have a picture of said-target; the most embarrassing thing that could happen to a hitman was elminating the wrong person; not only killing innocents was against Vongola policy but killing someone you are not supposed to could alert your real target of your presence. And that is never a good thing.

In this case, Reborn had to concede that Iemistu did give him a picture along with his profile but, the picture was so outdated that it was no use to him at all. Reborn might be good at his profession but how does one expect to distinguish someone from their sibling based on their 5 years old photograph? It was pretty impossible, really; either Iemistu overestimated Reborn's ability to complete his missions with the minimum of information (or simply believe he can read minds) or he is just simply incapable of thinking ahead. Reborn hasn't made up his mind yet.

Deciding that observing was only going to get him that far, Reborn spoke up, startling the two teens out of whatever thoughts they were involved in.

"Which one of you is Tsuna and which is Tsuyoshi?"

The taller one of the two, a golden-eyed boy who was now looking at his pacifier with more than just a passing interest, replied.

"I'm Tsuna and that's my brother Tsuyoshi. Are you really the Tutor? You look 5."

Always quick on the violence, Reborn decided to assert his dominance right now and punish Tsuna for insulting him - ok, it wasn't really an insult since he did look five, but Reborn was still touchy about his cursed form even after all this time. He transformed Leon in to a huge hammer and he didn't even give the teen time to express surprise at the unexpected development before he was already charging forward. He wasn't planning on hitting him hard on the head - after all, giving the brother of your student a concussion was not a good way to start a working relationship - just hard enough to get his point across, that despite his height, he was still incredibly strong and shouldn't be dismissed. However, that plan pretty much fell down the drain when instead of hitting Tsuna with the hammer, he missed and hit the wall instead.

_What the hell?_

Tsuna didn't seem to notice Reborn's confusion or how rare it was for the hitman to miss his target, instead choosing to stare at him in annoyance. Reborn was way too taken aback to even call him out on his blatant lack of respect. Because this wasn't something that happened often; missing his target. If he knew Reborn even a little better, he would know that Reborn never misses. He had nearly 60 years of experience for god's sake, he wasn't a beginner and he sure couldn't let a high school student get the better of him.

_Something's going on_, the hitman thought immediately to himself as his eyes narrowed suspiciously. Reborn wasn't naive enough to actually believe the miss was due to him; in all his predictions, the hammer should have touched its target; factoring the speed his was going, the distance between Tsuna and himself and the average amount of time it takes a normal human being to react to outside stimulus, Tsuna shouldn't have been able to evade anything. But nonetheless, it didn't change the fact that Reborn was sure Tsuna had moved just a little to the left; not enough to be noticeable but enough for him not to get hit. If he was certain his targeting skill was perfect - and it was - Tsuna was the one at fault and Reborn would do anything to get to the bottom of this little mystery.

Unfortunately however, before he could question the teen about what happened, Nana came up the stairs and poked her head in her sons' room. When she saw Reborn standing there, a look of confusion replaced her usual smile.

"I thought I heard a bang," she ignored the dent on the rooms wall and crouched down in front of Reborn, "hey there, whose kid are you?"

"I'm Reborn," the hitman replied primly, "I'm a tutor."

Instead of her sons' rather unnatural reactions to the news - Reborn hadn't even thought about that; he really needed to be more on his game - Nana predictably giggled.

"Oh that's so cute," she turned to her sons with a big smile, "It's so nice of you to babysit. It will be great experience for when you have kids on your own."

"Mom," both boys whined in unison, "We're still two young for that."

Nana snorted a little.

"I'll leave you guys to it then. I'll be downstairs preparing dinner; please don't make a mess while you play."

With that last order, the housewife turned on her heals and disappeared down the stairs, leaving Reborn alone with the Sawada brothers' once more. Silence reigned between them for awhile after that, with the parties all observing each other intently, only to be finally broken when Tsuyoshi spoke up.

"Look, I know that my grades aren't that great, but I really can't learn anything from you."

Again, quick on violence, to punish him for his arrogance, Reborn tried to deliver a flying kick to Tsuyoshi's stomach. He said "tried" because the kick never connected. Just as he was about 10 cm from succeeding the move, he felt someone tug him back with a strength and ease that could only be the result of years and years of training. Of course, it was Tsuna, holding him up and glaring down at him. Reborn was so destabilized by the fact that his attacks had failed for the second time that hour, that he didn't even struggle away. Instead, his eyes found Tsuna's, his gaze unwavering as he tried to unravel his secret. It was useless really, since Tsuna's face was a blank mask. _How did he..._

"Don't hurt my brother," Tsuna ordered him in a cold voice - the voice of a trained leader, Reborn realized with a start, "You can attack me all you want but the moment you touch Tsuyoshi, it's time out for you, kid."

_Talk about overprotective...And that aura; I never thought a teen could have such a deadly aura._

"I understand," Reborn replied as dignifiedly as possible considering his current situation. God, he hadn't been here for 10 minutes and already things were not going to plan. Before he had suspected that maybe Tsuna was more than he seems, but now he was sure that Tsuna was more than he seems. After all, no one could possibly move that fast and catch Reborn off guard. And what's worse; Reborn doesn't even know how Tsuna did what he did or what his powers might be. This dearth of information was making the hitman's skin itch. He wanted to shake Tsuna until he gave out all his secrets, but for now, Reborn was in a very disadvantageous position; he had to play nice if he wants to stay in the game. "But my true mission here is to make Tsuyoshi here a Mafia boss; violence is to be expected."

A look passed between both teens but it was gone so fast that Reborn could have easily chalk it off as his own imagination. He could have but something was telling him that these brothers weren't as ignorant as Iemistu makes them out to be. And for the 10th time that day, he cursed the CEDEF head with everything he got.

"So," Tsuna spoke up, "A mafia boss, hmm; is that a role playing game youngster are in to these days?"

Reborn felt his metaphorical hackles rise a little and resisted the urge to hit the infuriating teen. He really hated people who acted dumb when it was obvious they weren't.

"Don't act as if you don't really know what's going on," he said as mildly as possible, "You know I'm talking about the real life mafia and not some game."

Tsuna seemed particularly undisturbed by Reborn's words.

"Hmm, do I?"

His gaze sharpened suddenly, his easy going smile disappeared.

"Listen here, whoever you think you are; we are not interested in the Mafia and you are not welcome here. Get out of here before I do something we'll both regret."

Reborn felt himself tense, body ready for battle. He may not be as intimidating as his adult self but he wasn't going to let anyone push him around before he succeeds his mission.

"You won't be able to touch me in a million years," he snarled condesdening.

"Oh yeah?" Tsuna replied in amusement, "Well I won't have to touch you to get rid of you."

And before Reborn could decipher those cryptical words, he was flying out the window with a speed that was far from normal.

He flew over houses and trees and ended up somewhere east of town. And the last thing he thought before finally landing hard in a bush a long way from the Sawada's house, was how Tsuna hadn't even touched him to move him. Looked like his planned method of training Tsuyoshi wouldn't work at all. Not when he had an overprotective brother with superpowers, watching his every move. Tsuna's powers were really impressive. It was so different from anything he had seen so far that Reborn really don't know how to deal with it. Just how far did his potential go? Did his powers have anything to with Flames? Reborn didn't know; he was so frustrated by all these questions buzzing in his head that all he wanted was shoot something in anger.

But Reborn had never been one to give in to his emotions though. He had already somewhat expected his first meeting to not go as expected considering the outdated information that Iemistu had given him. Sure, this was beyond what he had envisioned - he hadn't even been able to stay 15 minutes in Tsuna's room before being thrown out - but with a new plan and maybe some allies, his luck might just be turning.

His fished out his phone - luckily intact from the fall - and pressed a set of buttons. When it rang, he placed it against his year and said: "Gokudera, yes it's me. You're still coming to Japan right? Yes as soon as possible, I'll be waiting. Don't be late."

_Let's see how those two deals with this..._

* * *

_**Sawada Residence, Present, Tsuna Age: 16, Tsuyoshi Age: 15, year 2009**_

Tsuna woke up on Monday a little later than usual. He allowed himself that luxury considering a) Nana was cooking today, and b) he really had a tiring day yesterday. Reborn's arrival had been unexpected to say the least and have the confirmation that Tsuyoshi was the heir explained so much about their past. For example why they had been such big targets for mafia families all around. Tsuna couldn't help but curse their absent father for not giving them the information they needed to protect themselves.

Reborn's physical apparence was also something that had surprised Tsuna. He knew about the Arcobalenos, of course, considering that Fon was one, but he never expected that Reborn would also be part of that group. Seing a pacifier that wasn't Fon's was interesting to say the least and Tsuna, despite not wanting Reborn anywhere near his little brother, couldn't help but want to learn more about how he ended that way or if he had any clue as to how to revert to normal. Fon had once told him that there was a possible cure for their curse but no one, not even Verde, the scientist of the group, knows it. It was so obscure that Fon hadn't been sure it was real until he found a mention of it in some old volume. The book in question didn't give any other information but it did give Fon hope that he would one day return to normal.

Talking about Fon, Tsuna decided that he should tell his trainer about Reborn. After all, if they were both Arcobalenos, Fon would surely know things about the hitman that Tsuna couldn't find out on his own. He needed more info to be able to better protect Tsuyoshi and their mother. Along with Fon, Tsuna should also inform Hibari of the new arrival; the Prefect will want to know that a hitman was in town and was here to stay.

He wasn't naive enough to actually believe his little display of power scared Reborn away. Reborn was a hitman and according to Tsuyoshi, he was the Ninth's most trusted hitman. There was no way he was leaving Japan without completing what he set out to do. All Tsuna could really do at the moment, short of killing him of course, was to keep a close eye on Tsuyoshi and make sure Reborn doesn't hurt Tsuyoshi too much. Surveillance won't be easy considering that they weren't in homeroom and most of their classes together but Tsuna was confident he could rope someone in to look out for his brother. He knows that that kid in class 1-5, Takeshi Yamamoto, owed him a favour from middle school. If he called him out on it, Yamamoto would surely help. And even if he can't stop Reborn from physically hurting Tsuyoshi, hopefully, his presence would deter Reborn from being violent.

Or at least, Tsuna hoped so.

His thoughts were interrupted when at that exact moment, a knock came on his door and Tsuyoshi came walking in, already dressed in uniform. At Tsuna's inquisitive eyebrow, he replied: "Reborn woke me up." He didn't even sound surprise the hitman was back. Good; looks like he learnt a thing or two over the years.

"Already?" Tsuna mumbled to himself, nonetheless, he won't let this divergence affect his plans, "That was faster than expected. Go on, I'll join you down stairs."

Tsuyoshi nodded before leaving.

Once his brother was gone, Tsuna quickly got up and his morning toiletries, got dressed and was down in the kitchen 10 minutes later. He wasn't surprised at all to see Reborn next to Tsuyoshi, at the breakfast table, munching away happily on his rice. Tsuyoshi looked a little uncomfortable beside him but didn't make any outward attempts to shy away from the other's presence. Tsuna decided that this was as good as it was going to get at the moment.

He grabbed a bowl of rice and installed himself across from the Arcobaleno his feet knocking in to the chair leg of Reborn's seat. It got him no reaction at all. Tsuyoshi obviously saw it through because he gave Tsuna an exasperated look that most likely meant: "Are you in elementary school?"

Ignoring Tsuyoshi's disapproval, Tsuna then smiled benignly at Reborn, almost as if their tense meeting the previous day had never happened. Instead of looking comforted by the smile, Reborn's expression darkened as his grip on his fork tightened. Instead of attacking however, he continued to eat, obviously not wanting to fall for Tsuna's trap. Tsuna was a little disappointed at that - he had wanted an excuse to throw the hitman about some more -, but he was confident he will manage to get rid of Reborn before the month is over. After all, Reborn is just another threat to the harmony of their little family and Tsuna, he's good at dealing with threats.

**To Be Continued...**


End file.
